Abstract

Chirality, i.e., handedness, pervades much of modern science from elementary particles, DNA-based biology to molecular chemistry; however, most of the chirality-relevant materials have been based on complex molecules. Here, we report inorganic single-crystalline Ni3TeO6, forming in a corundum-related R3 structure with both chirality and polarity. These chiralNi3TeO6single crystals exhibit a large optical specific rotation (α)—1355° dm−1 cm3 g−1. We demonstrate, for the first time, that in Ni3TeO6, chiral and polar domains form an intriguing domain pattern, resembling a radiation warning sign, which stems from interlocked chiral and polar domain walls through lowering of the wall energy.

We thank D. Vanderbilt and Jan Musfeldt for stimulating discussion. The work at Rutgers is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s EPiQS Initiative through Grant No. GBMF4413 to the Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials. The work at Postech is supported by the Max Planck POSTECH/KOREA Research Initiative Program [Grant No. 2011-0031558] through NRF of Korea funded by MEST. Y.S.O. is supported in part by the year of 2014 Research Fund (No. 1.140081.01) of the UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology).

Key Topics

[Magnets or magnetic bodies characterised by the
magnetic materials therefor; Selection of materials for their magnetic
properties, Magnets or magnetic bodies characterised by the magnetic materials therefor; Selection of materials for their magnetic properties]

Abstract

Chirality, i.e., handedness, pervades much of modern science from elementary particles, DNA-based biology to molecular chemistry; however, most of the chirality-relevant materials have been based on complex molecules. Here, we report inorganic single-crystalline Ni3TeO6, forming in a corundum-related R3 structure with both chirality and polarity. These chiralNi3TeO6single crystals exhibit a large optical specific rotation (α)—1355° dm−1 cm3 g−1. We demonstrate, for the first time, that in Ni3TeO6, chiral and polar domains form an intriguing domain pattern, resembling a radiation warning sign, which stems from interlocked chiral and polar domain walls through lowering of the wall energy.

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Interlocked chiral/polar domain walls and large optical rotation in Ni3TeO6